Shadow Steve kept walking, worried. He hadn't seen anyone for a while now, and he couldn't feel anyone's energy either. It wasn't the worry about being alone and without powers that unnerved him. It was the constant feeling that he was being watched. No matter where he looked, nor what he called out however, he could never figure out if it was his imagination or real. He had tried walking faster, and even running, but the feeling stayed with him the entire journey, ever since he left Rainbow Steve and the others. He had given up about an hour ago trying to figure out who was following him, and now he just walked, searching for something, anything to help him. It was funny really, because in a way, Shadow Steve was not the shadow anymore- whoever was following him had taken that role. Shadow eventually reached a ravine, almost hidden by the amount of trees nearby. He started placing blocks to make a bridge, when a stick snapped behind him. He sighed, rolling his eyes. And as soon as I look behind me, whatever stepped on that stick will be gone. Like always. He thought, annoyed. He turned around, and almost fell off his half-completed bridge in shock. Standing behind him was an almost fully black steve like him. However, as Shadow looked closer, he realized it wasn't actually mostly black as he first thought. Yes, there was the dark color on him, but what blended into the black was actually a dark midnight purple color. The steve had purple streaks on him, and hints of yellow, violet, indigo, orange, and purple on him as well. On his chest was a white clock-looking symbol, and under it was a dynamic blend with a very light blue color starting at the top left of the clock, blending down to a bright blue at the bottom right. His left eye was red, and his right eye was yellow, both of his pupils being white, and glowing.
"W-who are you…?" Shadow stammered, knowing that the steve could easily push him off and into the ravine.
"My name is Lapse Steve." The steve answered. His voice sounded a bit young, with a weird hiss to it. "What about you?"
"Shadow Steve…" Shadow answered hesitantly. The steve tilted his head.
"You're that 'echo of Dark Steve', aren't you? The Darkness part of him?" Lapse asked, curiously.
"Yes… that's basically it.. Why?" Shadow asked, cringing away, worried.
"Because… I'm half Darkness just like Dark Steve."
"Wait…. Really? You? Is that why you're so dark colored?" Shadow asked, now curious. Lapse nods, a bit awkwardly.
"Well… Lapse is. My name, as a Darkness, is actually Nightlock. I'm the Prince of the Darkness, yet my father still thought it a good idea to give me to Origin Steve, and merge me with another steve, Twilight. When he merged us, the two of us became Lapse. However, I'm the one that controls our merged form."
"Huh… So… your dad is Rainbow Void…?" Shadow asked, a bit nervous, remembering the stories from the colored steves about Void and the Rainbow Crystals.
"Dear heavens no. If he was my father I might have gone more than mentally insane." Lapse's eyes were wide in exaggeration. "Although... he isn't really that bad. No, he's not my father. He's not really even the king of Darkness. He made them yeah, but he doesn't fully control them. That's my father's job, Dark Leader. We usually just call him Dark though, but since there's Dark Steve, it gets kinda confusing." Shadow laughed softly, and Lapse's expression turned to pleasure.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Lapse." Shadow said, amused, a suspicious thought in the back of his mind. Is he the one that's been following me this whole time..?
"You too." Lapse said. To Shadow, his expression looked a bit… off. He was wondering why, when Lapse spoke again. "No, I wasn't following you until about 30 minutes ago. Why? How long have you been feeling like you're being watched?" Shadow stared at him.
"I-I- I didn't even…" Shadow trailed off. Lapse looked at him, confused. A moment later he covered his mouth, looking horrified and guilty.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to- I thought you had said that out loud-"
"You can hear my thoughts?!" Shadow exclaimed, his eyes widened. He backed up a step, forgetting he was on the edge of his bridge. His mind erupted into panic as he felt himself fall backward. Lapse managed to grab him by the shirt and pull him back up, pulling him back to the grass on the side of the ravine.
"Shadow, calm down!" Lapse says, releasing him. Shadow backed away, terrified.
"Why should I? You're standing there hearing my thoughts and you don't even think to tell me you can. How do I know I can trust you!?" Shadow said, glaring at Lapse. Something pushed him from behind, and he whirled around, finding himself staring at Void Steve.
"Void, what did I tell you?! I said, 'DON'T show yourself yet'!" Lapse groaned, facepalming.
"I couldn't resist." Void said simply, looking down at Shadow. He smiles, taking out a sword.
"Void, leave him alone." Lapse said sharply.
"One moment." Void said, smirking, and swung at Shadow. A multicolored blur flashed between Void and Shadow, and Shadow looked up to see Rainbow Steve between him and Void, frozen in pain.
"Shadow… run…" Rainbow gasped, just before Void merged with him. Rainbow Void looked down at Shadow with a sneer.
"Shadow- Wait-" Lapse started. Shadow ignored him and whipped around, running as fast as he could away from the two of them, shocked that Rainbow had risked his life for Shadow to get away. Thank you Rainbow Steve… I promise I'll find some way to return the favor...
